Method of pressing and drying plants and presses adapted therefor



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if VR. H. DAY. Y METHD 0I' PRESSING AND DRYING PLANTS AND PRESS ADAPTBD THEREFOR- No. 484,301. Patented oct. 11, 1892.

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, R. H. DAY. METHOD 0F PRESSING AND DRYING PLANTS AND PRESS ADAPTBD THBRBPOR. No. 484,301.- y Patented 001:. 1

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11. 11. DAY. METHOD OF PRSSING AND DRYING PLANTS AND PRESS ADAPTED THEREPOR.

11o- 484,301. Pa1en1edo0111,1892.

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R. H. DAY.

.METHOD 0F DRESSING AND DRYING PLAN-TS AND PRESS ADAPTED wmv THEREPOR.

Patented Oct. 11, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD H. DAY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF PRESSING AND DRYING PLANTS AND PRESSES ADAPTED THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 484,301, dated October 11, 1892.

Application filed April 26, 1892.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD H. DAY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Pressing and -Drying Plants and in Presses Adapted Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of my invention is to provide collectors of botanical specimens with a combined press and drier which will have the qualities of lightness, cheapness, compactness, and strength; will be equally available for use in the field or as a drier or storagepress in the house; and will permit the ready application of artificial heat for drying purposes; will serve to impart pressure to the stems, leaves, blossoms, and fruit ofthe plants without crushing the same; will provide for the drying of the plants while under such pressure, by evaporation,in contradistinction to the usual plan of drying by absorption; will permit of ready opening and closing and provide for ready access to the presser-pad covering the topmost layer of plants without disturbing those beneath, and will prevent the moisture of freshly-added plants from at'- fecting those which have become already dried or partially dried.

In theaccompanyingdrawings,Figuresland 2 are perspective views of a plant press and drier constructed in accordance with my invention, the views being taken from the opposite sides of the structure and both showing the press closed, as when it is being carried about from place to place. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the press open. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the press on a larger scale than the other figures. Flg. 5 is a perspective view of part of one of the presser-pads employed in the press. Fig. G 1s a perspective view illustrating a modified form of such pad. Figs. 7 and 8 are perspective diagrams illustrating a simple form of tackle to be used for tightening the press. Figs. 9 and 10 are perspective diagrams illustrating another form of tackle. Figs. 11 and 12 are perspective views of a heating-chamber to be used in connection with the press when it is desired to employ artificial heat for drying the specimens. Fig. 13 is a sectional view of the Serial NoI 430,720. (No model.)

press, illustrating the manner of using said heating-chamber; and Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a modified form of heating-chamber.

Each ot' theopposite sides of the press is composed,b vpreference, of longitudinal slats d, connected together by end slats b and intermediate slats (Z, and on the backs of these slats b and d are mounted longitudinal girders jpreferably set on edge, so that each frame while extremely light offers a rigid resistance to bending strain.

For the sake of lightness each side of the press is composed, by preference, wholly of wood, although the different parts of the same may consist of metal rods, tubes, bars, or strips possessing the necessary resistance to strain, tending to bend or deiiect the same, and the longitudinal girders may be in the form of trusses instead ot being solid, or the sides of the press may be otherwise modified in structure, as desired, without departing from the essential features of Inyinvention.

In order to secure the sides ot' the press together and to draw them toward each other with the desired degree of force, I prefer to use multiplying tackle of the block-and-fall type, one form of such tackle being shown in Y Figs. l and 2, in which g represents a bar or strip bearing against suitable lugs g on one Yof the end bars of the top side of the press,

this strip havingl cords c' passing through guides c" on the corresponding end barof the bottom side of the press, and thence to a ring i2. Similar cords 'm pass from another ring m2 through guides m on the opposite end bar a of the bottom side of the press, and thence to the corresponding end bar of the top side.v

The tightening-cord n of the tackle is connected to the center of the bar g, passes thence through a guide n on the opposite side of the press, thence to the ring m2, thence back to the ring i2, and thence through suitable guides fn on the end bars of the top and bottom sides of the press at the end opposite to the bar g, said cord nbeing retained by any desired form of clip or catch n2 ou the top side. This provides a simple form of tackle by which the pressure exerted at each of the three points of connection atleach end ot' the press is equal to the pull upon the cord n- Hence b I its aid sufficient ressure can be ex- IOO erted upon the contents of the press for all practical purposes. The cords may, however, be so disposed as to increase the power of the tackle or permit of a greater extent of separation of the frames, if desired. It will be evident, also, that straps, tapes, or the like may be used in place of cords and eyes or pulleys in place of the rings shown in Figs. 1 and 2; or, on the other hand, all eyes, rings, or pulleys may be dispensed with-as, for instance, in Figs. 7and 8, in which the cords pass through openings in the sides of the press at the narrow ends of the same, and the tightening-cord n is rove through the loops of the cords 1I and m.

In Figs. 9 and l0 I have shown a different, and for some purposes a preferred, form of reeving of the cords. In this case the bar g is located along one of the wide ends ofthe press, the cords t and m are connected, and

. the pull of the cord n is transverse to said cords, the object being to locate what are practically the hinge-cords of the press at one of the long ends instead of one of the short ends of the press, this construction permit-` ting extended opening of the press.

In all of the forms of tackle shown the bar or strip g can be thrown out of engagement with the lugs g' when the tighteningeord n is released, and the top frame of the press can i then be lifted and thrown back, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to permit access to the pads contained in the press, and between which the specimens are confined. These pads instead of being made of absorbent paper such as is usually employed in plant-presses are so constructed as to present a yielding surface and so as to be porous. Hence, while sufficient pressure can be imparted to the specimens to prevent them from shrinking and becoming wrinkled, the thick portionsof 'the specimens confined between the pads are not bruised by the pressure to which they are subjected, the pads readily conforming to `any irregularity of surface of the specimens, so as to preserve the same without injury.

men, the pad yielding to the resistant parts of vthe plants, and thereby not being ward'ed off thinner portions, while at the same time the pressure upon the thick parts, when the same are of a succulent character, is not such as will bruise or discolor said parts. By making the pads porous, moreover, so as to pro vide for the access of air thereto, I amen abled l -v herbarium, thus saving all of the care and In other Words,cn account of the spongy nature of the pad the pressure is evenly distributed on the speer;

labor involved in the many changes of pads and the repeated drying of the latter, which are necessitated when the specimens are dried by means of the ordinary pads. Moreover, handling of the specimens is unnecessary, thus overcoming all risk of disfiguring or injuring said specimens during the drying operation.

I prefer to make each of the presser-pads B of the press with opposite faces 1o, of paper, cheese-cloth, crpe, or `other material, which, while properly porous or capable of being permeated by moistme,\vill present a sufficientlyclose texture to prevent shriveling of the delicate portions of the plants. The body or filling of each pad is preferably composed of f a number yof layers p of retieulated fabricsuch as woven gauze or netting-these layers of netting and the surface layers p of the pads being secured together by stitching or in any other appropriate manner, so as to form a pad of the desired thickness and which can be readily handled. f

In carrying out my inventionl have in practice used with good results pads composed of surfacelayers 192,0f netting, stuffed with curled hair 19g-such, for instance, as shown in Fig. 6; but these pads are somewhat more expensive and more bulky than the preferred form of pad shown in Fig. 5 and do not possess the advantages of the preferred pad, which are due to the com parativel y-close texture 4of the surface of said pad. In practice I prefer to confine those pads which are not in use to one of the sides of the press by means of bands, strips, or cords s, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 3, the pads which are in use for preserving the specimens lying loosely (when the press is open) upon the other side of the press. '[he act of opening the press serves to separate those pads which are not in use from those in use, and the place is laid bare where a specimen is to be placed. A pad drawn from under the straps s is then laid over the specimen orspecimens and the operation repeated as other specimens are added.

When introducing fresh specimens into a press in which other specimens have been al- 'lo'wed to remain for some time and have bccome dried or partially dried, I prefer to place above the pads whereby such dry specimens are confined a sheet or sheets of oiled paper, oiled silk, or other flexible and impervious material, so that the moisture from the fresh specimens introduced into the press will not permeate the dried or partially-dried specimens which have been previously collected, and if extraordinarilyesncculent plants should be introduced into the press they can thus be separated from the quicker-dryin g specimens.

A press of the character described, while extremely cheap and compact, is of great capacity, and its Weight is insignificant, being not more than a few pounds even when supplied with a large number of pads sufficient for a reasonably-extended collecting tour, so that it is not burdensome to the collector,

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while at the same time it preserves the specimens in proper form, requires no changing of pads, and, owing to the readiness with which it can be opened and closed, it permits of the pressing of each specimen as soon as collected and does not lead the collector to accumulate a number of different specimens before properly disposing of them in the press, an advantage which will be obvious to botanists who appreciate the fact that ordinarily the sooner the plant after being plucked or removed from the earth is placed in a press the better the specimen will be.

If extremely-rapid vdrying of the specimens is desired, the press may on the return from a collecting tour be placed in a heated dryroom, and, owing to the porosity of the presserpads, the warm air will gain access to or circulate through all portions of the press and will effect the desired rapid drying of the specimens by the carrying off of the moisture from the same by evaporation-a plan which is impracticable when absorbent p ads are used.

In many cases it may be desirable to use artificial heat-such, for instance, as that of a lamp or candlefor hastening the drying of the specimens, and for this purpose I provide a heating-chamber to be introduced into the press, so as to provide a channel through the same for the heated air or products of combustion. @ne form of such chamber is shown in Figs. ll and 12, in which w w represent plates, preferably of thin sheet metal of approximately the same shape as the press, these plates being separated from each other by corrugated strips w', disposed at intervals, and being also separated from the adjacent pads of the press when confined therein, as

shown in Fig. 13, by means of opposite slatted frames 1022112, so that the central chamber between the two plates provides for the passage of the hot air or products of combustion and the slatted frames provide for currents of heated air on the outer sides of the plates w. When the heating-chamber is not in use, the strips w may be laid one on top of another and placed adjacent to the edges o f the plates w and the slatted frames w2 may be fitted together and disposed in the space between said strips w', as shown in Fig. 12, so that the structure will have but little bulk. W'hen decreased bulk is not so much of an object, however, the plates w may be secured together by transverse bolts or rods at intervals and separated by means of permanent fillingpieces w3, preferably tubular, introduced between the plates, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 14.

When the heating-chamber is in use, any available form of funnel or conduit wl, Fig. 13, can be employed for directing the hot air or products of combustion to the space between the plates w. The funnel may, for instance, constitute or be adapted for application to a lamp-chimney, or it may inclose or be mounted above a candle or gas-jet when the latter is the source from which the heat is derived, or a hot-water pipe may constitute the heater in some cases.`

Instead of serving merely as a iiue for the passage of the products of combustion the heating-chamber may itself contain combustible material, from which, when ignited, the heat is derived-for instance, the well-known form of Japanese pocket-stove containing a charge of punk-like fuel, which, when ignited, burns slowly, but for a long time is readily available for use in connection with the press.

The heating-chamber need not be of the same area as the press, as a chamber of much less area may be sufficient in many cases,and in place of a metallic casing it may be provided with a casing of asbestus paper or asbestus board, and instead of being located in the center ofthe press it may be at either side of the set of pads, or there may be one at each side, in which case provision may be made for air-passages only on the inner side of the heating-chamber, or the casing of said chamber may be directly in contact with the presser-pad, it desired.

Although my invention has been devised especially as a plant press and drier for use of botanists, it can, if desired, be used as a press or carrier for other specimens or samlples, the readiness with which the press can be opened and closed and the ready accessibility of the specimens or samples when the Y press is open being of advantage in any case. Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The mode herein described of drying botanical specimens, said mode consisting in extracting the moisture from the specimens by evaporation while said specimens are held under pressure, substantially as speciiied.

2. The within-described presser-pad for plant-presses, said pad having yielding surfaces and being porous internally for the access ot air, substantially as specified.

3. The within-described pad for plantpresses, said pad consisting of a surface or covering porous or permeable to moisture, but close in texture, and confining a porous or open-Work lling, substantially as specified.

4. The within-described presser-pad for plant-presses, the same consisting of outer layers of material close in texture, but porous or permeable to moisture, and a body or filling composed of layers of netting, substantially as specified.

5. A plant-press consisting of a series of presser-pads of porous or open-work material, opposite sides, and means for conlining said sides together, substantially as specified.

6. The within-described press, consisting of opposite sides and tackle, upon the principle of the block and fall, for drawing said sides together with any desiredA degree of pressure, substantially as specified.-

7 The within-described press, consisting ot' opposite sides, tackle for drawing together the sides of the press at the opposite ends of IOO IIO

the same, and a strip or bar carried by the tackle for one end ot' the press and having a bearing at that end against a projection on one of the sides of the press, but movable out of engagement therewith, substantially as specified.

S. A plan t-press consisting of opposite sides, means for con fining the same together, a series of presser-pads, and straps or bands for confining some of said presser-pads to one of the sides of the press, substantially as specied.

9. The combination of the opposite sides and porous presser-pads of a plant-press, with iiexible sheets of impervious material introduced between said porous presser-pads to prevent moisture passing from one specimen or set of specimens to another, substantially as specified.

10. The within-described press, consisting of opposite sides, each having at the back girders for stiffening and preventing the bending of the same, and tackle, on the principle of the block and fall, for conining said sides together, substantially as specified.

11. The Within-described press, consisting of opposite sides, each consisting of an open skeleton frame,with stiit'ening-girders extend ing along the back of the same, and tackle, on the principle of the block and fail, for contining the said sides together, substantially as specified.

12. The within-described press, consisting of opposite sides, each having' on the back stitfening-girders of greater depth than width, and means for confining said sides together, substantially as specitied.

13. A p1antpress having a heating-chambei confined therein, substantially as specifie 14. Aplant-press having therein a heatingchamber with spacing devices forming passages for heated air adjacent to the casing of saidl chamber, substantially as specified.

15. The within-described heating-chamber for plant-presses, the same consisting of side plates, filling-pieces separating the same, and slatted frames outside of the plates, substantially as specified.

16. The within-described heating-chamber for plant-presses, the same consisting of side plates, corrugated strips for separating said plates, and slatted frames for bearing against the outer sides of the plates, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD H. DAY.

Witnesses.

WILLIAM D. CONNEB, HARRY SMITH. 

